Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-04-05
A BOOK cANvAsssR's METHODS.
His Weakness, Humility and Impertur-
bnbiiity-Securing an Order.

babiiity-securing an Order.
"Well," said the canvasser, putting his
portfolio on an adjacent desk. while he
presented his autograph album to the re-
porter, and Produced pen and ink from a
secret recess in his vest-"Well. | must
first thank you for your kindness, and
now let me tell you that gall Is not such
a prc-eminent ingredient in a book an
vasser's make up rs you and n great
many other persons seem to imagine.
Our first lessons are taken from the Bible,
which teaches meekness and humility. A
real book canvasser never loses his tenn
per; he never gets angry; he never ar
cues; but he grdually leads the CONVEX
sation into pleasant channels, and makes
life as agreeable and enjoyable to all
around him as hepossibly can. The only
resistance a true canvasScr will make to
anybody is when his calling is inpeached.
He is early taught 10 stand up for the
honor of his calling. in spite Of all that
may I've It'd LIN Of the mislccls Of others
who have diSSrSccl it. There are black
sheep in every ilo2k, and al men should
not bc held responsible for the sins Of a
few.
The best way, though, to illustrate
our teachings is 10 tell you how we
work-and all VIC TO comes out Of our
course of study, as you call tor our
book of instructions, AS we call it. We
depend on ourselves to the largest pos.
sible extent. Sometimes we have a
helper, that is, a gentleman or lady Of a
certain ncighborhood who, in considcra-
ton of a free copy Of the book, intro
duccs Us to certain people, but the great
trouble about helpers is that they insist
on talking and recommending your work
after introducing y0n, thereby display
ing their interest and iniuring your pros
poets. Ii is harder to keep helpers
quiet than 10 get along without them, 80
l choose not to have them. The power
of Influence we, Of course, fully recOg-
nizr-lml IL is the influence or example
by leaders either in society or business.
For this reason we are always glad to
have good names TO show-some names
in the building. in the block or in the
immediate ncighlorhood. On approach
ing a gentleman Whose subscription we
desire to secure we have several things to
consider. and | shall mention them in
their order. We generally ascertain the
gcntleman's name and we make it a
point never TO forget "A name ono ac-
quired. II is pleasanter and more
effective 10 call a man by his name when
you meet him the first time, be-
cause il makes linn feel that his i'm
portance is appreciated and that his fame
is not confined to his family and imme-
diate friends. After meeting lIim, We
look him squarcly in the eve. and. with
out staring him. hold him AS the ancient
mariner held his friend with his glitter
ing orb. There is great power in the
human eye. and, besides. it shows that
you are not doing anything YOU are
ashamed Of. IL the person is engaged or
too busy we try 10 make an appoint
ment for some other time. IL we are
canvassing in families and there are chill
drcn present. we notice them and say
uicc things about their looks, or com
mcnt ON their resemblance To the head Of
the house.
.Thc next thing after securing atten-
ton IS 10 create a desire on the part of
the person 10 see what you've got. for
desire must precede demand. That is
another Of our axioms. We never show
our books until we have created the
necessary desire. You may have OBJ
served that ! tried to keep my portfolio
hidden 10y the flapof my oyercoat. When
We do show our book we do not let il 90
ont of our hands. but beginning at the
cover. We explain all its good points, put
ting our descriptions into the best words
we can master. We keep cool, do not
hurry: are concise and direct in our Ian.
guage, and try never TO weary or worry
our customer. Then we secure the order.
AS soon a. the customer shows signs Of
yielding. we have pen and ink rcady-wc
always carry ink-and obtain his sigma
ture while his mopl is favorable. After
getting the signature VT keep away from
the subscriber until we are ready to de-.
liver Che book, and the delivery is made
at n time when We know the subscriber
has money-whcn he gets his salary it a
working man. and after crop time he
lives in the country.
OBJECTIONS: Oh. gracious yes. we hear
plenty Of objections. We are taught 10
expect them, and We train ourselves 10
meet and answer them. In doing this
we aim TO I've pleasant and happy. with.
out being Extensively smart, and we avoid,
as far rs possible. direct answers or
labored arguments. Agents who are
afraid to depend ON their own facilities
in such emergencies have a manual from
which they may study and memorize
answers to the ordinary objections which
are offered. | have such a manual-one
published here. in which you will find
objections with ready made -
Globe Democrat.